U.S. patent application number 16/909442 was filed with the patent office on 2021-02-04 for techniques for reporting user equipment (ue) panel-related information.
The applicant listed for this patent is QUALCOMM Incorporated. Invention is credited to Arumugam CHENDAMARAI KANNAN, Mostafa KHOSHNEVISAN, Tao LUO, Wooseok NAM, Sungwoo PARK, Jing SUN, Yisheng XUE, Xiaoxia ZHANG.
Application Number | 20210037529 16/909442 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 1000004926842 |
Filed Date | 2021-02-04 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20210037529 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
PARK; Sungwoo ; et
al. |
February 4, 2021 |
TECHNIQUES FOR REPORTING USER EQUIPMENT (UE) PANEL-RELATED
INFORMATION
Abstract
A user equipment (UE) transmits, to a base station, a
transmission configuration indication (TCI) report indicating
associations between a plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels
of the UE; receives, from the base station in response to the TCI
report, a TCI configuration message indicating a first set of TCI
of the plurality of TCIs for a physical downlink control channel
(PDCCH) transmission; and skips monitoring, based at least in part
on the TCI configuration message, a control resource set (CORESET)
associated with a second set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs.
Inventors: |
PARK; Sungwoo; (San Diego,
CA) ; KHOSHNEVISAN; Mostafa; (San Diego, CA) ;
NAM; Wooseok; (San Diego, CA) ; LUO; Tao; (San
Diego, CA) ; SUN; Jing; (San Diego, CA) ;
ZHANG; Xiaoxia; (San Diego, CA) ; CHENDAMARAI KANNAN;
Arumugam; (San Diego, CA) ; XUE; Yisheng; (San
Diego, CA) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
QUALCOMM Incorporated |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
1000004926842 |
Appl. No.: |
16/909442 |
Filed: |
June 23, 2020 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
62882374 |
Aug 2, 2019 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 76/15 20180201;
H04W 8/24 20130101; H04W 52/0229 20130101; H04W 72/042 20130101;
H04W 80/02 20130101; H04W 76/27 20180201; H04W 72/0493
20130101 |
International
Class: |
H04W 72/04 20060101
H04W072/04; H04W 8/24 20060101 H04W008/24; H04W 76/15 20060101
H04W076/15; H04W 76/27 20060101 H04W076/27; H04W 80/02 20060101
H04W080/02; H04W 52/02 20060101 H04W052/02 |
Claims
1. A method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE),
comprising: transmitting, by the UE to a base station, a
transmission configuration indication (TCI) report indicating
associations between a plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels
of the UE; receiving, from the base station in response to the TCI
report, a TCI configuration message indicating a first set of TCI
of the plurality of TCIs for a physical downlink control channel
(PDCCH) transmission; and skip monitoring, based at least in part
on the TCI configuration message, a control resource set (CORESET)
associated with a second set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first set of TCI is different
than the second set of TCI.
3. The method of claim 1, further comprising: turning off a UE
panel associated with the second set of TCI.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the TCI report indicates that
each TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with only one UE
panel of the one or more UE panels.
5. The method of claim 1, wherein the TCI report indicates that at
least one TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with more than
one UE panel.
6. The method of claim 1, wherein the TCI report indicates, for a
first TCI of the plurality of TCIs, a single association, a
multiple association, and a confidence level of the single
association, wherein the single association identifies the first
TCI being associated with a first UE panel, wherein the multiple
association indicates the first TCI being associated with the first
UE panel and at least a second UE panel, and wherein the confidence
level identifies a UE confidence in reliably receiving the first
TCI using only the first UE panel.
7. The method of claim 1, wherein the TCI report includes a UE
capability indicating whether the UE is capable of a simultaneous
reception of one or more CORESETs of one or more TCIs of the
plurality of TCIs via more than one UE panel of the one or more UE
panels.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the UE is capable of reception of
one or more CORESETs of a single TCI of the plurality of TCIs via
one of the one or more UE panels, wherein the UE capability
indicates that the UE is incapable of the simultaneous
reception.
9. The method of claim 7, wherein the UE is capable of searching
CORESETs corresponding to only one TCI for PDCCH monitoring by
using multiple UE panels, wherein the UE capability indicates that
the UE is capable of the simultaneous reception.
10. The method of claim 7, wherein the UE is capable of searching
CORESETs corresponding to multiple TCIs for PDCCH monitoring by
using multiple UE panels, wherein the UE capability indicates that
the UE is capable of the simultaneous reception.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the TCI configuration message
indicates a TCI index of a TCI that is excluded from the first set
of TCI.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the TCI configuration message
indicates an excluded group index associated with one or more TCI
indices of an excluded set of TCI excluded from the first set of
TCI, wherein the excluded group index corresponds to an excluded UE
panel index, wherein the skip monitoring comprises skip monitoring
responsive to at least based on the excluded group index.
13. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the TCI configuration
message comprises receiving within a signaling of TCI
configurations via radio resource control (RRC).
14. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the TCI configuration
message comprises receiving within signaling of
activation/deactivation of one or more corresponding TCIs via media
access control (MAC) control element (CE).
15. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the TCI configuration
message comprises receiving a dynamic indication via a downlink
control information (DCI).
16. The method of claim 15, wherein the dynamic indication
comprises a PDCCH skipping signal.
17. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the TCI configuration
message comprises receiving within a signaling configured for UE
power saving.
18. The method of claim 1, further comprising: determining whether
to use a power saving mode or a high performance mode; and wherein
the skip monitoring is performed in response to determining to use
the power saving mode.
19. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: a
memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and
configured to: transmit, by the UE to a base station, a
transmission configuration indication (TCI) report indicating
associations between a plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels
of the UE; receive, from the base station in response to the TCI
report, a TCI configuration message indicating a first set of TCI
of the plurality of TCIs for a physical downlink control channel
(PDCCH) transmission; and skip monitoring, based at least in part
on the TCI configuration message, a control resource set (CORESET)
associated with a second set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs.
20. A method of wireless communication by a base station,
comprising: receiving, by the base station from a user equipment
(UE), a transmission configuration indication (TCI) report
indicating associations between a plurality of TCIs and one or more
UE panels of the UE; and transmitting, to the UE in response to the
TCI report, a TCI configuration message indicating a first set of
TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a physical downlink control
channel (PDCCH) transmission.
21. The method of claim 20, wherein the TCI report indicates that
each TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with only one UE
panel of the one or more UE panels.
22. The method of claim 20, wherein the TCI report indicates that
at least one TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with more
than one UE panel.
23. The method of claim 20, wherein the TCI report indicates, for a
first TCI of the plurality of TCIs, a single association, a
multiple association, and a confidence level of the single
association, wherein the single association identifies the first
TCI being associated with a first UE panel, wherein the multiple
association indicates the first TCI being associated with the first
UE panel and at least a second UE panel, and wherein the confidence
level identifies a UE confidence in reliably receiving the first
TCI using only the first UE panel, the method further comprising:
applying the confidence level in selecting the first set of TCI for
the PDCCH transmission based on a tradeoff between reliability and
power saving.
24. The method of claim 20, wherein the TCI report includes a UE
capability indicating whether the UE is capable of a simultaneous
reception of one or more CORESETs of one or more TCIs of the
plurality of TCIs via more than one UE panel of the one or more UE
panels, the method further comprising: selecting the first set of
TCI for the PDCCH transmission based at least on the UE capability,
the associations between the plurality of TCIs and the one or more
UE panels, a data buffer, a channel status in a multiple
transmit-receive point (multi-TRP) communication, or a trade-off
between a power saving mode and a reliability mode.
25. The method of claim 20, wherein the TCI configuration message
indicates a TCI index of a TCI that is excluded from the first set
of TCI.
26. The method of claim 20, wherein the TCI configuration message
indicates an excluded group index associated with one or more TCI
indices of an excluded set of TCI excluded from the first set of
TCI, wherein the excluded group index corresponds to an excluded UE
panel index.
27. The method of claim 20, wherein transmitting the TCI
configuration message comprises transmitting within a signaling of
TCI configurations via radio resource control (RRC) or within
signaling of activation/deactivation of one or more corresponding
TCIs via media access control (MAC) control element (CE).
28. The method of claim 20, wherein transmitting the TCI
configuration message comprises transmitting a dynamic indication
via a downlink control information (DCI), wherein the dynamic
indication comprises a PDCCH skipping signal.
29. The method of claim 20, wherein transmitting the TCI
configuration message comprises transmitting within a signaling
configured for UE power saving.
30. A base station for wireless communication, comprising: a
memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and
configured to: receive, by the base station from a user equipment
(UE), a transmission configuration indication (TCI) report
indicating associations between a plurality of TCIs and one or more
UE panels of the UE; and transmit, to the UE in response to the TCI
report, a TCI configuration message indicating a first set of TCI
of the plurality of TCIs for a physical downlink control channel
(PDCCH) transmission.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION(S)
[0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional
Application Ser. No. 62/882,374, entitled "TECHNIQUES FOR REPORTING
USER EQUIPMENT (UE) PANEL-RELATED INFORMATION" and filed on Aug. 2,
2019, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein in its
entirety.
BACKGROUND
[0002] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless
communication systems, and more particularly, to techniques for
reporting user equipment (UE) panel-related information.
[0003] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to
provide various telecommunication services such as telephony,
video, data, messaging, and broadcasts. Typical wireless
communication systems may employ multiple-access technologies
capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing
available system resources. Examples of such multiple-access
technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems,
time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division
multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division
multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency division
multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous
code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems.
[0004] These multiple access technologies have been adopted in
various telecommunication standards to provide a common protocol
that enables different wireless devices to communicate on a
municipal, national, regional, and even global level. An example
telecommunication standard is 5G New Radio (NR). 5G NR is part of a
continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by Third
Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) to meet new requirements
associated with latency, reliability, security, scalability (e.g.,
with Internet of Things (IoT)), and other requirements. 5G NR
includes services associated with enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB),
massive machine type communications (mMTC), and ultra reliable low
latency communications (URLLC). Some aspects of 5G NR may be based
on the 4G Long Term Evolution (LTE) standard. In 3GPP Rel. 15, the
UE can skip PDCCH monitoring to save power by using the connected
DRX mode. Several other advanced power saving methods have been
proposed for Rel. 16 such as wake-up signal and PDCCH skipping
signal. There exists a need for further improvements in 5G NR
technology. These improvements may also be applicable to other
multi-access technologies and the telecommunication standards that
employ these technologies.
SUMMARY
[0005] The following presents a simplified summary of one or more
aspects in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects.
This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated
aspects, and is intended to neither identify key or critical
elements of all aspects nor delineate the scope of any or all
aspects. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or
more aspects in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed
description that is presented later.
[0006] In aspects of the disclosure, methods, computer-readable
mediums, and apparatuses are provided.
[0007] In an aspect, a method of wireless communication by a user
equipment (UE) includes transmitting, by the UE to a base station,
a transmission configuration indication (TCI) report indicating
associations between a plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels
of the UE; receiving, from the base station in response to the TCI
report, a TCI configuration message indicating a first set of TCI
of the plurality of TCIs for a physical downlink control channel
(PDCCH) transmission; and skip monitoring, based at least in part
on the TCI configuration message, a control resource set (CORESET)
associated with a second set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs.
[0008] In a further aspect, a UE for wireless communication
includes a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory.
The at least one processor is configured to transmit, by the UE to
a base station, a TCI report indicating associations between a
plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels of the UE; receive,
from the base station in response to the TCI report, a TCI
configuration message indicating a first set of TCI of the
plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH transmission; and skip monitor, based
at least in part on the TCI configuration message, a CORESET
associated with a second set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs.
[0009] In another aspect, an apparatus for wireless communication
includes means for transmitting, by a UE to a base station, a TCI
report indicating associations between a plurality of TCIs and one
or more UE panels of the UE; means for receiving, from the base
station in response to the TCI report, a TCI configuration message
indicating a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH
transmission; and means for skip monitoring, based at least in part
on the TCI configuration message, a CORESET associated with a
second set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs.
[0010] In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable
medium stores computer executable code. The code, when executed by
a processor, causes the processor to transmit, by a UE to a base
station, a TCI report indicating associations between a plurality
of TCIs and one or more UE panels of the UE; receive, from the base
station in response to the TCI report, a TCI configuration message
indicating a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH
transmission; and skip monitoring, based at least in part on the
TCI configuration message, a CORESET associated with a second set
of TCI of the plurality of TCIs.
[0011] In a further aspect, a method of wireless communication by a
base station includes receiving, by the base station from a UE, a
TCI report indicating associations between a plurality of TCIs and
one or more UE panels of the UE; and transmitting, to the UE in
response to the TCI report, a TCI configuration message indicating
a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH
transmission.
[0012] In another aspect, a base station for wireless communication
includes a memory and at least one processor coupled to the memory.
The at least one processor is configured to receive, by the base
station from a UE, a TCI report indicating associations between a
plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels of the UE; and
transmit, to the UE in response to the TCI report, a TCI
configuration message indicating a first set of TCI of the
plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH transmission.
[0013] In a further aspect, an apparatus for wireless communication
includes means for receiving, by a base station from a UE, a TCI
report indicating associations between a plurality of TCIs and one
or more UE panels of the UE; and means for transmitting, to the UE
in response to the TCI report, a TCI configuration message
indicating a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH
transmission.
[0014] In yet another aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable
medium stores computer executable code. The code, when executed by
a processor, causes the processor to receive, by a base station
from a UE, a TCI report indicating associations between a plurality
of TCIs and one or more UE panels of the UE; and transmit, to the
UE in response to the TCI report, a TCI configuration message
indicating a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH
transmission.
[0015] To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the
one or more aspects include the features hereinafter fully
described and particularly pointed out in the claims. The following
description and the annexed drawings set forth in detail certain
illustrative features of the one or more aspects. These features
are indicative, however, of but a few of the various ways in which
the principles of various aspects may be employed, and this
description is intended to include all such aspects and their
equivalents.
[0016] Some further example implementations are provided below.
[0017] An example method of wireless communication for a user
equipment (UE), including transmitting, by the UE to a base
station, a transmission configuration indication (TCI) report
indicating associations between a plurality of TCIs and one or more
UE panels of the UE; receiving, from the base station in response
to the TCI report, a TCI configuration message indicating a first
set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a physical downlink control
channel (PDCCH) transmission; and skip monitoring, based at least
in part on the TCI configuration message, a control resource set
(CORESET) associated with a second set of TCI of the plurality of
TCIs.
[0018] The above method of wireless communication for a user
equipment (UE), wherein the first set of TCI is different than the
second set of TCI.
[0019] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein the TCI report indicates that at least
one TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with more than one
UE panel.
[0020] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein the TCI report indicates, for a first
TCI of the plurality of TCIs, a single association, a multiple
association, and a confidence level of the single association,
wherein the single association identifies the first TCI being
associated with a first UE panel, wherein the multiple association
indicates the first TCI being associated with the first UE panel
and at least a second UE panel, and wherein the confidence level
identifies a UE confidence in reliably receiving the first TCI
using only the first UE panel.
[0021] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein the TCI report includes a UE
capability indicating whether the UE is capable of a simultaneous
reception of one or more CORESETs of one or more TCIs of the
plurality of TCIs via more than one UE panel of the one or more UE
panels.
[0022] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein the UE is capable of reception of one
or more CORESETs of a single TCI of the plurality of TCIs via one
of the one or more UE panels, wherein the UE capability indicates
that the UE is incapable of the simultaneous reception.
[0023] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein the UE is capable of searching
CORESETs corresponding to only one TCI for PDCCH monitoring by
using multiple UE panels, wherein the UE capability indicates that
the UE is capable of the simultaneous reception.
[0024] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein the UE is capable of searching
CORESETs corresponding to multiple TCIs for PDCCH monitoring by
using multiple UE panels, wherein the UE capability indicates that
the UE is capable of the simultaneous reception.
[0025] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein the TCI configuration message
indicates a TCI index of a TCI that is excluded from the first set
of TCI.
[0026] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein the TCI configuration message
indicates an excluded group index associated with one or more TCI
indices of an excluded set of TCI excluded from the first set of
TCI, wherein the excluded group index corresponds to an excluded UE
panel index, wherein the skip monitoring includes skip monitoring
responsive to at least based on the excluded group index.
[0027] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein receiving the TCI configuration
message includes receiving within a signaling of TCI configurations
via radio resource control (RRC).
[0028] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein receiving the TCI configuration
message includes receiving within signaling of
activation/deactivation of one or more corresponding TCIs via media
access control (MAC) control element (CE).
[0029] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein receiving the TCI configuration
message includes receiving a dynamic indication via a downlink
control information (DCI).
[0030] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein the dynamic indication includes a
PDCCH skipping signal.
[0031] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), wherein receiving the TCI configuration
message includes receiving within a signaling configured for UE
power saving.
[0032] Any of the above methods of wireless communication for a
user equipment (UE), further including: determining whether to use
a power saving mode or a high performance mode; and wherein the
skip monitoring is performed in response to determining to use the
power saving mode.
[0033] A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, including
a memory storing instructions; and at least one processor coupled
to the memory and configured to execute the instructions to perform
the operations of any of the above methods of wireless
communication for a user equipment (UE).
[0034] An apparatus for wireless communication, including means for
performing the operations of any of the above methods of wireless
communication for a user equipment (UE).
[0035] A computer-readable medium including storing computer
executable code, the code when executed by a processor causes the
processor to perform the operations of any of the above methods of
wireless communication for a user equipment (UE).
[0036] An example method for wireless communication for a base
station, including receiving, by the base station from a user
equipment (UE), a transmission configuration indication (TCI)
report indicating associations between a plurality of TCIs and one
or more UE panels of the UE; and transmitting, to the UE in
response to the TCI report, a TCI configuration message indicating
a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a physical downlink
control channel (PDCCH) transmission.
[0037] The above method for wireless communication for a base
station, wherein the TCI report indicates that each TCI of the
plurality of TCIs is associated with only one UE panel of the one
or more UE panels.
[0038] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein the TCI report indicates that at least one
TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with more than one UE
panel.
[0039] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein the TCI report indicates, for a first TCI of
the plurality of TCIs, a single association, a multiple
association, and a confidence level of the single association,
wherein the single association identifies the first TCI being
associated with a first UE panel, wherein the multiple association
indicates the first TCI being associated with the first UE panel
and at least a second UE panel, and wherein the confidence level
identifies a UE confidence in reliably receiving the first TCI
using only the first UE panel, the method further including:
applying the confidence level in selecting the first set of TCI for
the PDCCH transmission based on a tradeoff between reliability and
power saving.
[0040] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein the TCI report includes a UE capability
indicating whether the UE is capable of a simultaneous reception of
one or more CORESETs of one or more TCIs of the plurality of TCIs
via more than one UE panel of the one or more UE panels.
[0041] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein the UE is capable of reception of one or more
CORESETs of a single TCI of the plurality of TCIs via one of the
one or more UE panels, wherein the UE capability indicates that the
UE is incapable of the simultaneous reception.
[0042] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein the UE is capable of searching CORESETs
corresponding to only one TCI for PDCCH monitoring by using
multiple UE panels, wherein the UE capability indicates that the UE
is capable of the simultaneous reception.
[0043] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein the UE is capable of searching CORESETs
corresponding to multiple TCIs for PDCCH monitoring by using
multiple UE panels, wherein the UE capability indicates that the UE
is capable of the simultaneous reception.
[0044] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, further including: selecting the first set of TCI for
the PDCCH transmission based at least on the UE capability and the
associations between the plurality of TCIs and the one or more UE
panels.
[0045] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, further including: selecting the first set of TCI for
the PDCCH transmission further based on a data buffer, a channel
status in a multiple transmit-receive point (multi-TRP)
communication, or a trade-off between a power saving mode and a
reliability mode.
[0046] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein the TCI configuration message indicates a TCI
index of a TCI that is excluded from the first set of TCI.
[0047] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein the TCI configuration message indicates an
excluded group index associated with one or more TCI indices of an
excluded set of TCI excluded from the first set of TCI, wherein the
excluded group index corresponds to an excluded UE panel index.
[0048] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein transmitting the TCI configuration message
includes transmitting within a signaling of TCI configurations via
radio resource control (RRC).
[0049] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein transmitting the TCI configuration message
includes transmitting within signaling of activation/deactivation
of one or more corresponding TCIs via media access control (MAC)
control element (CE).
[0050] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein transmitting the TCI configuration message
includes transmitting a dynamic indication via a downlink control
information (DCI).
[0051] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein the dynamic indication includes a PDCCH
skipping signal.
[0052] Any of the above methods for wireless communication for a
base station, wherein transmitting the TCI configuration message
includes transmitting within a signaling configured for UE power
saving
[0053] A base station for wireless communication, including a
memory; and at least one processor coupled to the memory and
configured to perform the operations of any of the above methods
for wireless communication for a base station.
[0054] An apparatus for wireless communication, including means for
performing the operations of any of the above methods for wireless
communication for a base station.
[0055] A computer-readable medium storing computer executable code,
the code when executed by a processor causes the processor to:
perform the operations of any of the above methods for wireless
communication for a base station.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0056] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless
communications system and an access network, including components
for user equipment (UE) power saving, for example, by reporting UE
panel-related information to a base station, according to some
aspects of the present disclosure.
[0057] FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an example of a first
5G/NR frame for use in communication by the base stations and/or
the UEs in FIG. 1, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0058] FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an example of DL channels
within a 5G/NR subframe for use in communication by the base
stations and/or the UEs in FIG. 1, according to some aspects of the
present disclosure.
[0059] FIG. 2C is a diagram illustrating an example of a second
5G/NR frame for use in communication by the base stations and/or
the UEs in FIG. 1, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0060] FIG. 2D is a diagram illustrating an example of UL channels
within a 5G/NR subframe for use in communication by the base
stations and/or the UEs in FIG. 1, according to some aspects of the
present disclosure.
[0061] FIG. 3A is a diagram illustrating a first example
discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle, according to some aspects of
the present disclosure.
[0062] FIG. 3B is a diagram illustrating a second example DRX
cycle, according to some aspects of the present disclosure.
[0063] FIG. 4A is a diagram illustrating a first example
communication configuration between a base station and a UE with
multiple UE panels, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0064] FIG. 4B is a diagram illustrating a second example
communication configuration between a base station and a UE with
multiple UE panels, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0065] FIG. 4C is a diagram illustrating a third example
communication configuration between a base station and a UE with
multiple UE panels, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0066] FIG. 5A is a diagram illustrating a fourth example
communication configuration between a base station and a UE with
multiple UE panels, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0067] FIG. 5B is a diagram illustrating a fifth example
communication configuration between a base station and a UE with
multiple UE panels, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0068] FIG. 5C is a diagram illustrating a sixth example
communication configuration between a base station and a UE with
multiple UE panels, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0069] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a first example method of wireless
communication by a UE, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0070] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of a base
station and a UE in an access network, according to some aspects of
the present disclosure.
[0071] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a second example method of wireless
communication by a UE, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0072] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example method of wireless
communication by a base station, according to some aspects of the
present disclosure.
[0073] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of example components of the
UE of FIG. 1, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
[0074] FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of example components of the
base station of FIG. 1, according to some aspects of the present
disclosure.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0075] The detailed description set forth below in connection with
the appended drawings is intended as a description of various
configurations and is not intended to represent the only
configurations in which the concepts described herein may be
practiced. The detailed description includes specific details for
the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of various
concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art
that these concepts may be practiced without these specific
details. In some instances, well known structures and components
are shown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such
concepts. Although the following description may be focused on 5G
NR, the concepts described herein may be applicable to other
similar areas, such as LTE, LTE-A, CDMA, GSM, and other wireless
technologies.
[0076] Aspects of the present disclosure allow for improved user
equipment (UE) power saving by taking into consideration multiple
UE panels (e.g., each panel including a transceiver chain, one or
more antennas, etc.), for example, in a multiple transmission
configuration indication (multi-TCI) communication or a multiple
transmit reception point (multi-TRP) communication. In an aspect,
for example, a UE may report UE panel-related information (e.g.,
indicating associations between TCIs and UE panels) to a base
station. The UE may then receive TCI configuration information from
the base station in response, indicating which TCIs may be used for
physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmissions. The UE may
then skip monitoring of control resource sets (CORESETs) of one or
more TCIs and turn off one or more corresponding UE panels to save
power.
[0077] Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be
presented with reference to various apparatus and methods. These
apparatus and methods will be described in the following detailed
description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various
blocks, components, circuits, processes, algorithms, etc.
(collectively referred to as "elements"). These elements may be
implemented using electronic hardware, computer software, or any
combination thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as
hardware or software depends upon the particular application and
design constraints imposed on the overall system.
[0078] By way of example, an element, or any portion of an element,
or any combination of elements may be implemented as a "processing
system" that includes one or more processors. Examples of
processors include microprocessors, microcontrollers, graphics
processing units (GPUs), central processing units (CPUs),
application processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), reduced
instruction set computing (RISC) processors, systems on a chip
(SoC), baseband processors, field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs),
programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic,
discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured
to perform the various functionality described throughout this
disclosure. One or more processors in the processing system may
execute software. Software shall be construed broadly to mean
instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code,
programs, subprograms, software components, applications, software
applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects,
executables, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc.,
whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode,
hardware description language, or otherwise.
[0079] Accordingly, in one or more example aspects, the functions
described may be implemented in hardware, software, or any
combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may
be stored on or encoded as one or more instructions or code on a
computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes computer
storage media. Storage media may be any available media that can be
accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such
computer-readable media can include a random-access memory (RAM), a
read-only memory (ROM), an electrically erasable programmable ROM
(EEPROM), optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage, other
magnetic storage devices, combinations of the aforementioned types
of computer-readable media, or any other medium that can be used to
store computer executable code in the form of instructions or data
structures that can be accessed by a computer.
[0080] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless
communications system and an access network 100 including a UE 104
that reports UE panel-related information to a base station 102
(e.g., a gNB) in order to implement UE power saving functionality.
For example, in an aspect, the UE 104 includes a power saving
component 140 that transmits a TCI report 141 to the base station
102, where the TCI report 141 indicates information about the
associations between a number of TCIs and one or more UE panels of
the UE 104 (e.g., a first UE panel 144 and a second UE panel 145).
The TCI report 141 may also indicate UE capability 142, e.g.,
whether the UE 104 is capable of simultaneous reception of one or
more CORESETs of one or more TCIs via more than one UE panel. In
response to the TCI report 141, the base station may transmit a TCI
configuration 143 to the UE 104. For example, in an aspect, the
base station 102 includes a power saving component 198 that
determines the TCI configuration 143 based on the TCI report 141,
where the TCI configuration indicates one or more TCIs that may be
used for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) transmission.
Further details of the operation of the power saving component 140
of the UE 104 and the power saving component 198 of the base
station 102 are described below with reference to FIGS. 2A-2D, 3A,
3B, 4A-4C, 5A-5C, and 6-11.
[0081] The wireless communications system (also referred to as a
wireless wide area network (WWAN)) includes base stations 102, UEs
104, an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) 160, and another core network 190
(e.g., a 5G Core (5GC)). The base stations 102 may include
macrocells (high power cellular base station) and/or small cells
(low power cellular base station). The macrocells include base
stations. The small cells include femtocells, picocells, and
microcells.
[0082] The base stations 102 configured for 4G LTE (collectively
referred to as Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System
(UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)) may interface
with the EPC 160 through backhaul links 132 (e.g., S1 interface).
The base stations 102 configured for 5G NR (collectively referred
to as Next Generation RAN (NG-RAN)) may interface with core network
190 through backhaul links 184. In addition to other functions, the
base stations 102 may perform one or more of the following
functions: transfer of user data, radio channel ciphering and
deciphering, integrity protection, header compression, mobility
control functions (e.g., handover, dual connectivity), inter-cell
interference coordination, connection setup and release, load
balancing, distribution for non-access stratum (NAS) messages, NAS
node selection, synchronization, radio access network (RAN)
sharing, multimedia broadcast multicast service (MBMS), subscriber
and equipment trace, RAN information management (RIM), paging,
positioning, and delivery of warning messages. The base stations
102 may communicate directly or indirectly (e.g., through the EPC
160 or core network 190) with each other over backhaul links 134
(e.g., X2 interface). The backhaul links 132, 134, 184 may be wired
or wireless.
[0083] The base stations 102 may wirelessly communicate with the
UEs 104. Each of the base stations 102 may provide communication
coverage for a respective geographic coverage area 110. There may
be overlapping geographic coverage areas 110. For example, the
small cell 102' may have a coverage area 110' that overlaps the
coverage area 110 of one or more macro base stations 102. A network
that includes both small cell and macrocells may be known as a
heterogeneous network. A heterogeneous network may also include
Home Evolved Node Bs (eNBs) (HeNBs), which may provide service to a
restricted group known as a closed subscriber group (CSG). The
communication links 120 between the base stations 102 and the UEs
104 may include uplink (UL) (also referred to as reverse link)
transmissions from a UE 104 to a base station 102 and/or downlink
(DL) (also referred to as forward link) transmissions from a base
station 102 to a UE 104. The communication links 120 may use
multiple-input and multiple-output (MIMO) antenna technology,
including spatial multiplexing, beamforming, and/or transmit
diversity. The communication links may be through one or more
carriers. The base stations 102/UEs 104 may use spectrum up to Y
MHz (e.g., 5, 10, 15, 20, 100, 400, etc. MHz) bandwidth per carrier
allocated in a carrier aggregation of up to a total of Yx MHz (x
component carriers) used for transmission in each direction. The
carriers may or may not be adjacent to each other. Allocation of
carriers may be asymmetric with respect to DL and UL (e.g., more or
fewer carriers may be allocated for DL than for UL). The component
carriers may include a primary component carrier and one or more
secondary component carriers. A primary component carrier may be
referred to as a primary cell (PCell) and a secondary component
carrier may be referred to as a secondary cell (SCell).
[0084] Certain UEs 104 may communicate with each other using
device-to-device (D2D) communication link 158, e.g., including
synchronization signals. The D2D communication link 158 may use the
DL/UL WWAN spectrum. The D2D communication link 158 may use one or
more sidelink channels, such as a physical sidelink broadcast
channel (PSBCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), a
physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH), and a physical sidelink
control channel (PSCCH). D2D communication may be through a variety
of wireless D2D communications systems, such as for example,
FlashLinQ, WiMedia, Bluetooth, ZigBee, Wi-Fi based on the IEEE
802.11 standard, LTE, or NR.
[0085] The wireless communications system may further include a
Wi-Fi access point (AP) 150 in communication with Wi-Fi stations
(STAs) 152 via communication links 154 in a 5 GHz unlicensed
frequency spectrum. When communicating in an unlicensed frequency
spectrum, the STAs 152/AP 150 may perform a clear channel
assessment (CCA) prior to communicating in order to determine
whether the channel is available.
[0086] The small cell 102' may operate in a licensed and/or an
unlicensed frequency spectrum. When operating in an unlicensed
frequency spectrum, the small cell 102' may employ NR and use the
same 5 GHz unlicensed frequency spectrum as used by the Wi-Fi AP
150. The small cell 102', employing NR in an unlicensed frequency
spectrum, may boost coverage to and/or increase capacity of the
access network.
[0087] A base station 102, whether a small cell 102' or a large
cell (e.g., macro base station), may include an eNB, gNodeB (gNB),
or another type of base station. Some base stations, such as gNB
180 may operate in a traditional sub 6 GHz spectrum, in millimeter
wave (mmW) frequencies, and/or near mmW frequencies in
communication with the UE 104. When the gNB 180 operates in mmW or
near mmW frequencies, the gNB 180 may be referred to as an mmW base
station. Extremely high frequency (EHF) is part of the RF in the
electromagnetic spectrum. EHF has a range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz and
a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 10 millimeters. Radio waves
in the band may be referred to as a millimeter wave. Near mmW may
extend down to a frequency of 3 GHz with a wavelength of 100
millimeters. The super high frequency (SHF) band extends between 3
GHz and 30 GHz, also referred to as centimeter wave. Communications
using the mmW/near mmW radio frequency band (e.g., 3 GHz-300 GHz)
has extremely high path loss and a short range. The mmW base
station 180 may utilize beamforming 182 with the UE 104 to
compensate for the extremely high path loss and short range.
[0088] The base station 180 may transmit a beamformed signal to the
UE 104 in one or more transmit directions 182'. The UE 104 may
receive the beamformed signal from the base station 180 in one or
more receive directions 182''. The UE 104 may also transmit a
beamformed signal to the base station 180 in one or more transmit
directions. The base station 180 may receive the beamformed signal
from the UE 104 in one or more receive directions. The base station
180/UE 104 may perform beam training to determine the best receive
and transmit directions for each of the base station 180/UE 104.
The transmit and receive directions for the base station 180 may or
may not be the same. The transmit and receive directions for the UE
104 may or may not be the same.
[0089] The EPC 160 may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME)
162, other MMEs 164, a Serving Gateway 166, a Multimedia Broadcast
Multicast Service (MBMS) Gateway 168, a Broadcast Multicast Service
Center (BM-SC) 170, and a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway 172.
The MME 162 may be in communication with a Home Subscriber Server
(HSS) 174. The MME 162 is the control node that processes the
signaling between the UEs 104 and the EPC 160. Generally, the MME
162 provides bearer and connection management. All user Internet
protocol (IP) packets are transferred through the Serving Gateway
166, which itself is connected to the PDN Gateway 172. The PDN
Gateway 172 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other
functions. The PDN Gateway 172 and the BM-SC 170 are connected to
the IP Services 176. The IP Services 176 may include the Internet,
an intranet, an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS), a PS Streaming
Service, and/or other IP services. The BM-SC 170 may provide
functions for MBMS user service provisioning and delivery. The
BM-SC 170 may serve as an entry point for content provider MBMS
transmission, may be used to authorize and initiate MBMS Bearer
Services within a public land mobile network (PLMN), and may be
used to schedule MBMS transmissions. The MBMS Gateway 168 may be
used to distribute MBMS traffic to the base stations 102 belonging
to a Multicast Broadcast Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) area
broadcasting a particular service, and may be responsible for
session management (start/stop) and for collecting eMBMS related
charging information.
[0090] The core network 190 may include an Access and Mobility
Management Function (AMF) 192, other AMFs 193, a Session Management
Function (SMF) 194, and a User Plane Function (UPF) 195. The AMF
192 may be in communication with a Unified Data Management (UDM)
196. The AMF 192 is the control node that processes the signaling
between the UEs 104 and the core network 190. Generally, the AMF
192 provides QoS flow and session management. All user Internet
protocol (IP) packets are transferred through the UPF 195. The UPF
195 provides UE IP address allocation as well as other functions.
The UPF 195 is connected to the IP Services 197. The IP Services
197 may include the Internet, an intranet, an IP Multimedia
Subsystem (IMS), a PS Streaming Service, and/or other IP
services.
[0091] The base station 102 may also be referred to as a gNB, Node
B, evolved Node B (eNB), an access point, a base transceiver
station, a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver
function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ES
S), a transmit reception point (TRP), or some other suitable
terminology. The base station 102 provides an access point to the
EPC 160 or core network 190 for a UE 104. Examples of UEs 104
include a cellular phone, a smart phone, a session initiation
protocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal digital assistant (PDA),
a satellite radio, a global positioning system, a multimedia
device, a video device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player),
a camera, a game console, a tablet, a smart device, a wearable
device, a vehicle, an electric meter, a gas pump, a large or small
kitchen appliance, a healthcare device, an implant, a
sensor/actuator, a display, or any other similar functioning
device. Some of the UEs 104 may be referred to as IoT devices
(e.g., parking meter, gas pump, toaster, vehicles, heart monitor,
etc.). The UE 104 may also be referred to as a station, a mobile
station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a
wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a
wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile
subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a
wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a
mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology.
[0092] Referring to FIGS. 2A-2D, one or more example frame
structures, channels, and resources may be used for communication
between the base stations 102 and the UEs 104 of FIG. 1. FIG. 2A is
a diagram 200 illustrating an example of a first subframe within a
5G/NR frame structure. FIG. 2B is a diagram 230 illustrating an
example of DL channels within a 5G/NR subframe. FIG. 2C is a
diagram 250 illustrating an example of a second subframe within a
5G/NR frame structure. FIG. 2D is a diagram 280 illustrating an
example of UL channels within a 5G/NR subframe. The 5G/NR frame
structure may be FDD in which for a particular set of subcarriers
(carrier system bandwidth), subframes within the set of subcarriers
are dedicated for either DL or UL, or may be TDD in which for a
particular set of subcarriers (carrier system bandwidth), subframes
within the set of subcarriers are dedicated for both DL and UL. In
the examples provided by FIGS. 2A, 2C, the 5G/NR frame structure is
assumed to be TDD, with subframe 4 being configured with slot
format 28 (with mostly DL), where D is DL, U is UL, and X is
flexible for use between DL/UL, and subframe 3 being configured
with slot format 34 (with mostly UL). While subframes 3, 4 are
shown with slot formats 34, 28, respectively, any particular
subframe may be configured with any of the various available slot
formats 0-61. Slot formats 0, 1 are all DL, UL, respectively. Other
slot formats 2-61 include a mix of DL, UL, and flexible symbols.
UEs are configured with the slot format (dynamically through DL
control information (DCI), or semi-statically/statically through
radio resource control (RRC) signaling) through a received slot
format indicator (SFI). Note that the description infra applies
also to a 5G/NR frame structure that is TDD.
[0093] Other wireless communication technologies may have a
different frame structure and/or different channels. A frame (10
ms) may be divided into 10 equally sized subframes (1 ms). Each
subframe may include one or more time slots. Subframes may also
include mini-slots, which may include 7, 4, or 2 symbols. Each slot
may include 7 or 14 symbols, depending on the slot configuration.
For slot configuration 0, each slot may include 14 symbols, and for
slot configuration 1, each slot may include 7 symbols. The symbols
on DL may be cyclic prefix (CP) OFDM (CP-OFDM) symbols. The symbols
on UL may be CP-OFDM symbols (for high throughput scenarios) or
discrete Fourier transform (DFT) spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols
(also referred to as single carrier frequency-division multiple
access (SC-FDMA) symbols) (for power limited scenarios; limited to
a single stream transmission). The number of slots within a
subframe is based on the slot configuration and the numerology. For
slot configuration 0, different numerologies .mu. 0 to 5 allow for
1, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 32 slots, respectively, per subframe. For slot
configuration 1, different numerologies 0 to 2 allow for 2, 4, and
8 slots, respectively, per subframe. Accordingly, for slot
configuration 0 and numerology .mu., there are 14 symbols/slot and
2.sup..mu. slots/subframe. The subcarrier spacing and symbol
length/duration are a function of the numerology. The subcarrier
spacing may be equal to 2.sup..mu.*15 kHz, where .mu. is the
numerology 0 to 5. As such, the numerology .mu.=0 has a subcarrier
spacing of 15 kHz and the numerology .mu.=5 has a subcarrier
spacing of 480 kHz. The symbol length/duration is inversely related
to the subcarrier spacing. FIGS. 2A-2D provide an example of slot
configuration 0 with 14 symbols per slot and numerology .mu.=0 with
1 slot per subframe. The subcarrier spacing is 15 kHz and symbol
duration is approximately 66.7 .mu.s.
[0094] A resource grid may be used to represent the frame
structure. Each time slot includes a resource block (RB) (also
referred to as physical RBs (PRBs)) that extends 12 consecutive
subcarriers. The resource grid is divided into multiple resource
elements (REs). The number of bits carried by each RE depends on
the modulation scheme.
[0095] As illustrated in FIG. 2A, some of the REs carry reference
(pilot) signals (RS) for the UE. The RS may include demodulation RS
(DM-RS) (indicated as R.sub.x for one particular configuration,
where 100x is the port number, but other DM-RS configurations are
possible) and channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS)
for channel estimation at the UE. The RS may also include beam
measurement RS (BRS), beam refinement RS (BRRS), and phase tracking
RS (PT-RS).
[0096] FIG. 2B illustrates an example of various DL channels within
a subframe of a frame. The physical downlink control channel
(PDCCH) carries DCI within one or more control channel elements
(CCEs), each CCE including nine RE groups (REGs), each REG
including four consecutive REs in an OFDM symbol. A primary
synchronization signal (PSS) may be within symbol 2 of particular
subframes of a frame. The PSS is used by a UE 104 to determine
subframe/symbol timing and a physical layer identity. A secondary
synchronization signal (SSS) may be within symbol 4 of particular
subframes of a frame. The SSS is used by a UE to determine a
physical layer cell identity group number and radio frame timing.
Based on the physical layer identity and the physical layer cell
identity group number, the UE can determine a physical cell
identifier (PCI). Based on the PCI, the UE can determine the
locations of the aforementioned DM-RS. The physical broadcast
channel (PBCH), which carries a master information block (MIB), may
be logically grouped with the PSS and SSS to form a synchronization
signal (SS)/PBCH block. The MIB provides a number of RBs in the
system bandwidth and a system frame number (SFN). The physical
downlink shared channel (PDSCH) carries user data, broadcast system
information not transmitted through the PBCH such as system
information blocks (SIBs), and paging messages.
[0097] As illustrated in FIG. 2C, some of the REs carry DM-RS
(indicated as R for one particular configuration, but other DM-RS
configurations are possible) for channel estimation at the base
station. The UE may transmit DM-RS for the physical uplink control
channel (PUCCH) and DM-RS for the physical uplink shared channel
(PUSCH). The PUSCH DM-RS may be transmitted in the first one or two
symbols of the PUSCH. The PUCCH DM-RS may be transmitted in
different configurations depending on whether short or long PUCCHs
are transmitted and depending on the particular PUCCH format used.
Although not shown, the UE may transmit sounding reference signals
(SRS). The SRS may be used by a base station for channel quality
estimation to enable frequency-dependent scheduling on the UL.
[0098] FIG. 2D illustrates an example of various UL channels within
a subframe of a frame. The PUCCH may be located as indicated in one
configuration. The PUCCH carries uplink control information (UCI),
such as scheduling requests, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a
precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a rank indicator (RI), and HARQ
ACK/NACK feedback. The PUSCH carries data, and may additionally be
used to carry a buffer status report (B SR), a power headroom
report (PHR), and/or UCI.
[0099] In LTE and NR (e.g., Release 15), connected discontinuous
transmission (DRX) allows a UE to make signaling-free transitions
between sleep and awake states. The gNB schedules PDCCH/PDSCH
transmissions only during the ON duration cycle, and the UE
monitors PDCCH (e.g., UE is awake) only during the ON duration
cycle (or until an inactivity timer expires). During the OFF
duration cycle, the UE sleeps to save battery power. However, for
beyond-NR (e.g., Release 16), a wake-up signal (WUS) and/or a
PDCCH-skipping signal may be used to save UE battery further. For
example, referring to FIG. 3A, if a WUS is not detected in the
pre-wake-up stage 302, the UE 104 can skip the following ON
duration cycle to save power further. However, referring to FIG.
3B, the UE 104 can go into the sleep mode even during the ON
duration cycle if the UE 104 receives the PDCCH-skipping signal 304
from the gNB 102 which knows the downlink buffer status. For
example, upon receiving the PDCCH-skipping signal 304, the UE 104
may go into sleep for a micro-sleep duration and skip PDCCH
monitoring over the micro-sleep duration.
[0100] Referring to FIG. 4A, in a single TCI communication, the
base station 102 may use a transmit beam associated with a first
TCI, and the UE 104 may use a receive beam associated with the
first TCI. The UE 104 monitors PDCCHs by searching the CORESETs
associated with the same TCI (e.g., CORESETs 1 and 2 are both
associated with the first TCI). In this case, the power saving
signals do not need to include the TCI index since only a single
TCI is used. Further, the UE panels 144 and 145 are transparent to
the gNB 102 (e.g., the base station does not need to know how many
UE panels are used on the UE side, how the UE panels are associated
with different TCIs, etc.). Accordingly, the UE 104 does need to
report the UE panel-related information to the gNB 102.
[0101] Referring to FIG. 4B, in a multi-TCI communication
(including multi-TRP communication), the gNB 102 uses multiple
TCIs. Each TCI is associated with a respective CORESET, and the UE
104 monitors PDCCHs by searching the CORESETs associated with the
different TCIs. In this case, the power saving signals may need to
include the TCI index (e.g., per-TCI power saving signal). For
example, in one non-limiting aspect, the gNB 102 may indicate to
the UE 104 to skip monitoring CORESETs #1 and #2 associated with
TCIs #1 and #2. The gNB 102 may make such indication using a power
saving signal, such as a WUS signal or a PDCCH skipping signal. The
UE panels 144 and 145 are still transparent to the gNB 102, meaning
the UE 104 does need to report the UE panel-related information and
the gNB 102 does not need to know UE panel-related information.
[0102] Referring to FIG. 4C, in a multi-TCI communication
(including multi-TRP communication) with UE panel index reporting,
the UE 104 monitors PDCCHs by searching the CORESETs associated
with different TCIs. The power saving signals may need to include
the TCI index (e.g., per-TCI power saving signal). Alternatively,
the power saving signals (e.g., per-panel PDCCH-skipping signal)
may need to include the group index (e.g., UE panel index). In this
case the UE panels 144 and 145 are not transparent to the gNB 102,
meaning the UE 104 needs to report the UE panel-related
information.
[0103] In an aspect, in a multi-TCI communication (including
multi-TRP communication), improved power saving is provided using a
UE panel indication (e.g., with UE panel index reporting). That is,
if the UE reports the UE panel-related information to the gNB, the
gNB may be able to save UE power further. Referring to FIG. 5A, in
one non-limiting aspect, for example, in single-TRP or multi-TRP
communication, each UE panel (e.g., each one of the first UE panel
144 and the second UE panel 145) is associated with 2 TCIs
exclusively (TCI #1 and #2 are associated with the first UE panel
144 and TCI #3 and #4 are associated with the second UE panel 145).
In this example aspect, the gNB 102 uses all four TCIs, and UE 104
monitors the PDCCH associated with all four TCIs. However, in one
non-limiting aspect, the gNB 102 may be able to reduce the power
consumption at the UE 104 by using only two of the four TCIs so
that the UE 104 can monitor PDCCH associated with only two of the
four TCIs for power saving, as described below.
[0104] Referring to FIG. 5B, in one non-limiting aspect, for
example, the gNB 102 may not know the UE panel-related information.
Therefore, the gNB 102 may select TCI #2 and #3 without considering
the association of different TCIs with UE panels 144 and 145, and
hence the UE 104 needs to turn on both UE panels 144 and 145.
However, referring to FIG. 5C, in another non-limiting aspect, for
example, if the gNB 102 knows the UE panel-related information, the
gNB 102 may select TCIs that are associated with a single UE panel.
For example, the gNB 102 may select TCI #1 and #2 by considering
the association of both of these two TCIs with the first UE panel
144. The UE 104 may then turn off the second UE panel 145 and save
power.
[0105] In an aspect, for example, the UE 104 may decide about the
association between different TCIs and different UE panels. In an
aspect, for example, the UE 104 may change the associations between
the TCIs and the UE panels and report the updated associations to
the gNB 102. For example, in an aspect, referring to FIG. 5B, the
UE 104 may change the TCI-panel associations to associate TCI #3
with the first UE panel 144. The UE 104 may then turn off the
second UE panel 145.
[0106] In an aspect, the gNB 102 and/or the UE 104 may consider a
trade-off between power saving and performance (e.g., reliability).
For example, the configuration in FIG. 5A may provide better
performance/reliability, while the configuration in FIG. 5C may
provide better UE power saving. In an aspect, even when the gNB 102
does not know the UE panel-related information, the gNB 102 may
select TCI #1 and #2 (as in FIG. 5C). Accordingly, there is no
constraint on TCI selection, allowing for opportunistic power
saving. In an aspect, even when the gNB 102 knows the UE
panel-related information, the gNB 102 may select TCI #2 and #3 (as
in FIG. 5B) by taking into consideration the trade-off between
power saving and reliability.
[0107] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of one non-limiting example method 600
of wireless communication that may be performed by the UE 104. At
block 602, the UE 104 informs the gNB 102 of the association
between the TCIs and the UE panels (e.g., 144 and 145). At block
604, based in the UE report, the gNB 102 decides which TCIs to use
for PDCCH transmission. At block 606, the gNB 102 informs the UE
104 of the block 604 decision. At block 608, based on the gNB
indication, the UE 104 skips searching the corresponding CORESETs
for PDCCH monitoring and turns off the corresponding UE panel.
Further details of each block are provided below.
[0108] In an aspect, for example, at block 602 in FIG. 6, the UE
104 informs the gNB 102 of the association between the TCIs and the
UE panels 144 and 145. Regarding the association between TCIs and
UE panels 144 and 145, in an aspect, for example, each TCI is
associated with only one UE panel. Alternatively, in another
aspect, for example, each TCI may be associated with multiple UE
panels. Alternatively, a further aspect may include a combination
of the aforementioned first and second options.
[0109] In one non-limiting aspect, for example, the UE 104 reports
the following three types of information: [0110] TCI #1 is
associated with the first UE panel 144 [0111] TCI #1 is associated
with the first UE panel 144 and the second UE panel 145 [0112] a
soft metric about how confident the UE 104 is that TCI #1 can be
received reliably using only the first UE Panel 144 Based on the
soft metric above, the gNB 102 may take into consideration a
trade-off between reliability and power-saving.
[0113] Regarding the UE capability of simultaneous reception via
multiple UE panels, in one non-limiting aspect, for example, only
one UE panel is active at a time, and simultaneous reception of
CORESETs of different TCIs is not possible. Alternatively, in
another non-limiting aspect, for example, all UE panels (or
multiple UE panels) are active at a time. In this case, the UE 104
may search CORESETs corresponding to only one TCI for PDCCH
monitoring by using multiple UE panels, or alternatively the UE may
search CORESETs corresponding to multiple TCIs for PDCCH monitoring
by using multiple UE panels (simultaneous reception).
[0114] In an aspect, the UE 104 reports the aforementioned UE
capability information to the gNB 102.
[0115] In an aspect, for example, at block 604 in FIG. 6, based on
the UE report, the gNB 102 decides which TCIs to use for PDCCH
transmission. In an aspect, based on the UE capability and the
TCI-panel associations reported from the UE 104 and optionally
other information (e.g., data buffer, channel status in the
multi-TRP case, etc.), the gNB 102 decides which TCIs to use for
PDCCH transmission. In an aspect, the gNB 102 may need to take into
consideration a trade-off between a power saving mode or a
reliability mode.
[0116] In an aspect, for example, at block 606 in FIG. 6, the gNB
102 informs the UE 104 of the block 604 decision. Regarding the
signaling information, for example, in an aspect, the gNB 102 may
inform the UE 104 of the TCI index that can be skipped for PDCCH
monitoring. Alternatively, the gNB 102 may inform the UE 104 of the
group index (e.g., UE panel index) indicating the TCI indices that
can be skipped for PDCCH monitoring.
[0117] In an aspect, the signaling method used by the gNB 102 to
indicate the block 604 decision may be, for example, configuration
of the TCIs via radio resource control (RRC),
activation/deactivation of the corresponding TCIs via media access
control (MAC) control element (CE), dynamic indication via DCI
(e.g., PDCCH skipping signal), or other signals related to UE power
saving (e.g., a WUS signal or a PDCCH skipping signal).
[0118] In an aspect, for example, at block 608 in FIG. 6, based on
the gNB indication, the UE 104 skips searching the corresponding
CORESET for PDCCH monitoring and turns off the corresponding UE
panel. In an aspect, whether to turn on or off the UE panel depends
on the UE decision (e.g., the UE does not always need to follow the
decision of the gNB). In an aspect, for example, the UE 104 may
decide which mode to use, e.g., the power saving mode versus the
high performance mode.
[0119] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a base station 710 including a
power saving component 198 in communication with a UE 750 including
a power saving component 140 in an access network, where the base
station 710 may be an example implementation of base station 102
and where UE 750 may be an example implementation of UE 104. In the
DL, IP packets from the EPC 160 may be provided to a
controller/processor 775. The controller/processor 775 implements
layer 3 and layer 2 functionality. Layer 3 includes a radio
resource control (RRC) layer, and layer 2 includes a service data
adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer, a packet data convergence
protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a
medium access control (MAC) layer. The controller/processor 775
provides RRC layer functionality associated with broadcasting of
system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs), RRC connection control (e.g.,
RRC connection paging, RRC connection establishment, RRC connection
modification, and RRC connection release), inter radio access
technology (RAT) mobility, and measurement configuration for UE
measurement reporting; PDCP layer functionality associated with
header compression/decompression, security (ciphering, deciphering,
integrity protection, integrity verification), and handover support
functions; RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer of
upper layer packet data units (PDUs), error correction through ARQ,
concatenation, segmentation, and reassembly of RLC service data
units (SDUs), re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs, and reordering of
RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer functionality associated with mapping
between logical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of
MAC SDUs onto transport blocks (TBs), demultiplexing of MAC SDUs
from TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correction
through HARQ, priority handling, and logical channel
prioritization.
[0120] The transmit (TX) processor 716 and the receive (RX)
processor 770 implement layer 1 functionality associated with
various signal processing functions. Layer 1, which includes a
physical (PHY) layer, may include error detection on the transport
channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding of the
transport channels, interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto
physical channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels,
and MIMO antenna processing. The TX processor 716 handles mapping
to signal constellations based on various modulation schemes (e.g.,
binary phase-shift keying (BPSK), quadrature phase-shift keying
(QPSK), M-phase-shift keying (M-PSK), M-quadrature amplitude
modulation (M-QAM)). The coded and modulated symbols may then be
split into parallel streams. Each stream may then be mapped to an
OFDM subcarrier, multiplexed with a reference signal (e.g., pilot)
in the time and/or frequency domain, and then combined together
using an Inverse Fast Fourier Transform (IFFT) to produce a
physical channel carrying a time domain OFDM symbol stream. The
OFDM stream is spatially precoded to produce multiple spatial
streams. Channel estimates from a channel estimator 774 may be used
to determine the coding and modulation scheme, as well as for
spatial processing. The channel estimate may be derived from a
reference signal and/or channel condition feedback transmitted by
the UE 750. Each spatial stream may then be provided to a different
antenna 720 via a separate transmitter 718TX. Each transmitter
718TX may modulate an RF carrier with a respective spatial stream
for transmission.
[0121] At the UE 750, each receiver 754RX receives a signal through
its respective antenna 752. Each receiver 754RX recovers
information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the
information to the receive (RX) processor 756. The TX processor 768
and the RX processor 756 implement layer 1 functionality associated
with various signal processing functions. The RX processor 756 may
perform spatial processing on the information to recover any
spatial streams destined for the UE 750. If multiple spatial
streams are destined for the UE 750, they may be combined by the RX
processor 756 into a single OFDM symbol stream. The RX processor
756 then converts the OFDM symbol stream from the time-domain to
the frequency domain using a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT). The
frequency domain signal includes a separate OFDM symbol stream for
each subcarrier of the OFDM signal. The symbols on each subcarrier,
and the reference signal, are recovered and demodulated by
determining the most likely signal constellation points transmitted
by the base station 710. These soft decisions may be based on
channel estimates computed by the channel estimator 758. The soft
decisions are then decoded and deinterleaved to recover the data
and control signals that were originally transmitted by the base
station 710 on the physical channel. The data and control signals
are then provided to the controller/processor 759, which implements
layer 3 and layer 2 functionality.
[0122] The controller/processor 759 can be associated with a memory
760 that stores program codes and data. The memory 760 may be
referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the
controller/processor 759 provides demultiplexing between transport
and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header
decompression, and control signal processing to recover IP packets
from the EPC 160. The controller/processor 759 is also responsible
for error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol to support
HARQ operations.
[0123] Similar to the functionality described in connection with
the DL transmission by the base station 710, the
controller/processor 759 provides RRC layer functionality
associated with system information (e.g., MIB, SIBs) acquisition,
RRC connections, and measurement reporting; PDCP layer
functionality associated with header compression/decompression, and
security (ciphering, deciphering, integrity protection, integrity
verification); RLC layer functionality associated with the transfer
of upper layer PDUs, error correction through ARQ, concatenation,
segmentation, and reassembly of RLC SDUs, re-segmentation of RLC
data PDUs, and reordering of RLC data PDUs; and MAC layer
functionality associated with mapping between logical channels and
transport channels, multiplexing of MAC SDUs onto TBs,
demultiplexing of MAC SDUs from TBs, scheduling information
reporting, error correction through HARQ, priority handling, and
logical channel prioritization.
[0124] Channel estimates derived by a channel estimator 758 from a
reference signal or feedback transmitted by the base station 710
may be used by the TX processor 768 to select the appropriate
coding and modulation schemes, and to facilitate spatial
processing. The spatial streams generated by the TX processor 768
may be provided to different antenna 752 via separate transmitters
754TX. Each transmitter 754TX may modulate an RF carrier with a
respective spatial stream for transmission.
[0125] The UL transmission is processed at the base station 710 in
a manner similar to that described in connection with the receiver
function at the UE 750. Each receiver 718RX receives a signal
through its respective antenna 720. Each receiver 718RX recovers
information modulated onto an RF carrier and provides the
information to a RX processor 770.
[0126] The controller/processor 775 can be associated with a memory
776 that stores program codes and data. The memory 776 may be
referred to as a computer-readable medium. In the UL, the
controller/processor 775 provides demultiplexing between transport
and logical channels, packet reassembly, deciphering, header
decompression, control signal processing to recover IP packets from
the UE 750. IP packets from the controller/processor 775 may be
provided to the EPC 160. The controller/processor 775 is also
responsible for error detection using an ACK and/or NACK protocol
to support HARQ operations.
[0127] At least one of the TX processor 768, the RX processor 756,
and the controller/processor 759 may be configured to perform
aspects in connection with the power saving component 140 of FIG.
1.
[0128] At least one of the TX processor 716, the RX processor 770,
and the controller/processor 775 may be configured to perform
aspects in connection with the power saving component 198 of FIG.
1.
[0129] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method 800 of wireless
communication that may be performed by a UE such as the UE 104
(FIG. 1 above or FIG. 10 below) or the UE 750 (FIG. 7 above). In an
aspect, for example, the UE 104 or the UE 750 may perform the
functions described in the method 800 using one or more of the
components described with reference to FIG. 1 or FIG. 7 above or
FIG. 10 below, such as power saving component 140, first UE panel
144, second UE panel 145, memory 760, antenna 752, TX processor
768, RX processor 756, controller/processor 759, modem 1014, UE
panel(s) 146, antenna 1065, RF front end 1088, transceiver 1002,
processor 1012, and/or memory 1016.
[0130] At 802, the method 800 includes transmitting, by the UE to a
base station, a TCI report indicating associations between a
plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels of the UE. For example,
in an aspect, UE 104, 750, power saving component 140, first UE
panel 144, second UE panel 145, memory 760, antenna 752, TX
processor 768, RX processor 756, controller/processor 759, modem
1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s) 146, antenna 1065, RF front end
1088, transceiver 1002, and/or processor 1012 may transmit a TCI
report to the base station 102, where the TCI report indicates
associations between a plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels
of the UE 104, such as the first UE panel 144 and the second UE
panel 145. For example, in an aspect, the TCI report may indicate
that TCI #1 and TCI #2 are associated with the first UE panel 144,
and TCI #3 and TCI #4 are associated with the second UE panel 145,
as in FIGS. 5A-5C. Accordingly, UE 104, 750, power saving component
140, first UE panel 144, second UE panel 145, memory 760, antenna
752, TX processor 768, RX processor 756, controller/processor 759,
modem 1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s) 146, antenna 1065, RF front
end 1088, transceiver 1002, and/or processor 1012 may provide means
for transmitting a TCI report to the base station 102, where the
TCI report indicates associations between a plurality of TCIs and
one or more UE panels of the UE 104, such as the first UE panel 144
and the second UE panel 145.
[0131] At 804, the method 800 includes receiving, from the base
station in response to the TCI report, a TCI configuration message
indicating a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH
transmission. For example, in an aspect, UE 104, 750, power saving
component 140, first UE panel 144, second UE panel 145, memory 760,
antenna 752, TX processor 768, RX processor 756,
controller/processor 759, modem 1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s) 146,
antenna 1065, RF front end 1088, transceiver 1002, and/or processor
1012 may receive a TCI configuration message from the base station
102 in response to the TCI report, where the TCI configuration
message indicates a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a
PDCCH transmission. For example, in an aspect, the TCI
configuration message may indicate that TCI #1 and TCI #2 are used
for PDCCH transmission, as in FIG. 5C. Accordingly, UE 104, 750,
power saving component 140, first UE panel 144, second UE panel
145, memory 760, antenna 752, TX processor 768, RX processor 756,
controller/processor 759, modem 1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s) 146,
antenna 1065, RF front end 1088, transceiver 1002, and/or processor
1012 may provide means for receiving a TCI configuration message
from the base station 102 in response to the TCI report, where the
TCI configuration message indicates a first set of TCI of the
plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH transmission.
[0132] At 806, the method 800 may include skip monitoring, based at
least in part on the TCI configuration message, a CORESET
associated with a second set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs. For
example, in an aspect, UE 104, 750, power saving component 140,
first UE panel 144, second UE panel 145, memory 760, antenna 752,
TX processor 768, RX processor 756, controller/processor 759, modem
1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s) 146, antenna 1065, RF front end
1088, transceiver 1002, and/or processor 1012 may skip monitoring,
based at least in part on the TCI configuration message, a CORESET
associated with a second set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs. For
example, in an aspect, the UE 104 may skip monitoring CORESETs
associated with TCI #3 and TCI #4, as in FIG. 5C. Accordingly, UE
104, 750, power saving component 140, first UE panel 144, second UE
panel 145, memory 760, antenna 752, TX processor 768, RX processor
756, controller/processor 759, modem 1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s)
146, antenna 1065, RF front end 1088, transceiver 1002, and/or
processor 1012 may provide means for skip monitoring, based at
least in part on the TCI configuration message, a CORESET
associated with a second set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs.
[0133] Optionally, in an aspect, at block 810, the method 800 may
further include turning off a UE panel associated with the second
set of TCI. For example, in an aspect, UE 104, 750, power saving
component 140, first UE panel 144, second UE panel 145, memory 760,
antenna 752, TX processor 768, RX processor 756,
controller/processor 759, modem 1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s) 146,
antenna 1065, RF front end 1088, transceiver 1002, and/or processor
1012 may turn off a UE panel associated with the second set of TCI.
For example, in an aspect, the UE may turn off the second UE panel
145 as in FIG. 5C. Accordingly, UE 104, 750, power saving component
140, first UE panel 144, second UE panel 145, memory 760, antenna
752, TX processor 768, RX processor 756, controller/processor 759,
modem 1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s) 146, antenna 1065, RF front
end 1088, transceiver 1002, and/or processor 1012 may provide means
for turning off a UE panel associated with the second set of
TCI.
[0134] Optionally, in an aspect, the first set of TCI is different
than the second set of TCI. For example, in an aspect, the first
set of TCI include TCI #1 and TCI #2, and the second set of TCI
includes TCI #3 and TCI #4, as in FIG. 5C.
[0135] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI report indicates that each
TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with only one UE panel
of the one or more UE panels.
[0136] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI report indicates that at
least one TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with more than
one UE panel.
[0137] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI report indicates, for a
first TCI of the plurality of TCIs, a single association, a
multiple association, and a confidence level of the single
association, where the single association identifies the first TCI
being associated with a first UE panel, where the multiple
association indicates the first TCI being associated with the first
UE panel and at least a second UE panel, and where the confidence
level identifies a UE confidence in reliably receiving the first
TCI using only the first UE panel.
[0138] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI report includes a UE
capability indicating whether the UE is capable of a simultaneous
reception of one or more CORESETs of one or more TCIs of the
plurality of TCIs via more than one UE panel of the one or more UE
panels.
[0139] Optionally, in an aspect, the UE is capable of reception of
one or more CORESETs of a single TCI of the plurality of TCIs via
one of the one or more UE panels, where the UE capability indicates
that the UE is incapable of the simultaneous reception.
[0140] Optionally, in an aspect, the UE is capable of searching
CORESETs corresponding to only one TCI for PDCCH monitoring by
using multiple UE panels, where the UE capability indicates that
the UE is capable of the simultaneous reception.
[0141] Optionally, in an aspect, the UE is capable of searching
CORESETs corresponding to multiple TCIs for PDCCH monitoring by
using multiple UE panels, where the UE capability indicates that
the UE is capable of the simultaneous reception.
[0142] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI configuration message
indicates a TCI index of a TCI that is excluded from the first set
of TCI.
[0143] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI configuration message
indicates an excluded group index associated with one or more TCI
indices of an excluded set of TCI excluded from the first set of
TCI, where the excluded group index corresponds to an excluded UE
panel index, where the skip monitoring includes skip monitoring
responsive to at least based on the excluded group index.
[0144] Optionally, in an aspect, receiving the TCI configuration
message at 804 includes receiving within a signaling of TCI
configurations via RRC.
[0145] Optionally, in an aspect, receiving the TCI configuration
message at 804 includes receiving within signaling of
activation/deactivation of one or more corresponding TCIs via MAC
CE.
[0146] Optionally, in an aspect, receiving the TCI configuration
message at 804 includes receiving a dynamic indication via a
DCI.
[0147] Optionally, in an aspect, the dynamic indication includes a
PDCCH skipping signal.
[0148] Optionally, in an aspect, receiving the TCI configuration
message at 804 includes receiving within a signaling configured for
UE power saving.
[0149] Optionally, in an aspect, for example, block 806 may further
include block 808. In this aspect, at block 808, the method 800 may
further include determining whether to use a power saving mode or a
high performance mode. For example, in an aspect, UE 104, 750,
power saving component 140, first UE panel 144, second UE panel
145, memory 760, antenna 752, TX processor 768, RX processor 756,
controller/processor 759, modem 1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s) 146,
antenna 1065, RF front end 1088, transceiver 1002, and/or processor
1012 may determine whether to use a power saving mode or a high
performance mode. Accordingly, UE 104, 750, power saving component
140, first UE panel 144, second UE panel 145, memory 760, antenna
752, TX processor 768, RX processor 756, controller/processor 759,
modem 1014, memory 1016, UE panel(s) 146, antenna 1065, RF front
end 1088, transceiver 1002, and/or processor 1012 may provide means
for determining whether to use a power saving mode or a high
performance mode.
[0150] Optionally, in an aspect, for example, the skip monitoring
at 806 is performed in response to determining to use the power
saving mode.
[0151] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a method 900 of wireless
communication that may be performed by a base station such as the
base station 102 (FIG. 1 above or FIG. 11 below) or the base
station 710 (FIG. 7 above). In an aspect, for example, the base
station 102 or the base station 710 may perform the functions
described in the method 900 using one or more of the components
described with reference to FIG. 1 or FIG. 7 above or in FIG. 11
below, such as power saving component 198, memory 776, antenna 720,
TX processor 716, RX processor 770, controller/processor 775, modem
1114, power saving component 198, antenna 1165, RF front end 1188,
transceiver 1102, processor 1112, and/or memory 1116.
[0152] At 902, the method 900 includes receiving, by the base
station from a UE, a TCI report indicating associations between a
plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels of the UE. For example,
in an aspect, base station 102, 710, power saving component 198,
memory 776, antenna 720, TX processor 716, RX processor 770,
controller/processor 775, modem 1114, memory 1116, antenna 1165, RF
front end 1188, transceiver 1102, and/or processor 1112 may receive
a TCI report from the UE 104, where the TCI report indicates
associations between a plurality of TCIs and one or more UE panels
of the UE 104, such as the first UE panel 144 and the second UE
panel 145. For example, in an aspect, the TCI report may indicate
that TCI #1 and TCI #2 are associated with the first UE panel 144,
and TCI #3 and TCI #4 are associated with the second UE panel 145,
as in FIGS. 5A-5C. Accordingly, base station 102, 710, power saving
component 198, memory 776, antenna 720, TX processor 716, RX
processor 770, controller/processor 775, modem 1114, memory 1116,
antenna 1165, RF front end 1188, transceiver 1102, and/or processor
1112 may provide means for receiving a TCI report from the UE 104,
where the TCI report indicates associations between a plurality of
TCIs and one or more UE panels of the UE 104, such as the first UE
panel 144 and the second UE panel 145.
[0153] At 904, the method 900 includes transmitting, to the UE in
response to the TCI report, a TCI configuration message indicating
a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH
transmission. For example, in an aspect, base station 102, 710,
power saving component 198, memory 776, antenna 720, TX processor
716, RX processor 770, controller/processor 775, modem 1114, memory
1116, antenna 1165, RF front end 1188, transceiver 1102, and/or
processor 1112 may transmit a TCI configuration message to the UE
104 in response to the TCI report, where the TCI configuration
message indicates a first set of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a
PDCCH transmission. For example, in an aspect, the TCI
configuration message may indicate that TCI #1 and TCI #2 are used
for PDCCH transmission, as in FIG. 5C. Accordingly, base station
102, 710, power saving component 198, memory 776, antenna 720, TX
processor 716, RX processor 770, controller/processor 775, modem
1114, memory 1116, antenna 1165, RF front end 1188, transceiver
1102, and/or processor 1112 may provide means for transmitting a
TCI configuration message to the UE 104 in response to the TCI
report, where the TCI configuration message indicates a first set
of TCI of the plurality of TCIs for a PDCCH transmission.
[0154] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI report indicates that each
TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with only one UE panel
of the one or more UE panels.
[0155] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI report indicates that at
least one TCI of the plurality of TCIs is associated with more than
one UE panel.
[0156] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI report indicates, for a
first TCI of the plurality of TCIs, a single association, a
multiple association, and a confidence level of the single
association, where the single association identifies the first TCI
being associated with a first UE panel, where the multiple
association indicates the first TCI being associated with the first
UE panel and at least a second UE panel, and where the confidence
level identifies a UE confidence in reliably receiving the first
TCI using only the first UE panel.
[0157] Optionally, in an aspect, block 904 may further include
block 906. In this aspect, at block 906, the method 900 may further
include applying the confidence level in selecting the first set of
TCI for the PDCCH transmission based on a tradeoff between
reliability and power saving. For example, in an aspect, base
station 102, 710, power saving component 198, memory 776, antenna
720, TX processor 716, RX processor 770, controller/processor 775,
modem 1114, memory 1116, antenna 1165, RF front end 1188,
transceiver 1102, and/or processor 1112 may apply the confidence
level in selecting the first set of TCI for the PDCCH transmission
based on a tradeoff between reliability and power saving.
Accordingly, base station 102, 710, power saving component 198,
memory 776, antenna 720, TX processor 716, RX processor 770,
controller/processor 775, modem 1114, memory 1116, antenna 1165, RF
front end 1188, transceiver 1102, and/or processor 1112 may provide
means for applying the confidence level in selecting the first set
of TCI for the PDCCH transmission based on a tradeoff between
reliability and power saving.
[0158] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI report includes a UE
capability indicating whether the UE is capable of a simultaneous
reception of one or more CORESETs of one or more TCIs of the
plurality of TCIs via more than one UE panel of the one or more UE
panels.
[0159] Optionally, in an aspect, the UE is capable of reception of
one or more CORESETs of a single TCI of the plurality of TCIs via
one of the one or more UE panels, where the UE capability indicates
that the UE is incapable of the simultaneous reception.
[0160] Optionally, in an aspect, the UE is capable of searching
CORESETs corresponding to only one TCI for PDCCH monitoring by
using multiple UE panels, where the UE capability indicates that
the UE is capable of the simultaneous reception.
[0161] Optionally, in an aspect, the UE is capable of searching
CORESETs corresponding to multiple TCIs for PDCCH monitoring by
using multiple UE panels, where the UE capability indicates that
the UE is capable of the simultaneous reception.
[0162] Optionally, in an aspect, block 904 may further include
block 908. In this aspect, at block 908, the method 900 may further
include selecting the first set of TCI for the PDCCH transmission
based at least on the UE capability and the associations between
the plurality of TCIs and the one or more UE panels. For example,
in an aspect, base station 102, 710, power saving component 198,
memory 776, antenna 720, TX processor 716, RX processor 770,
controller/processor 775, modem 1114, memory 1116, antenna 1165, RF
front end 1188, transceiver 1102, and/or processor 1112 may select
the first set of TCI for the PDCCH transmission based at least on
the UE capability and the associations between the plurality of
TCIs and the one or more UE panels. Accordingly, base station 102,
710, power saving component 198, memory 776, antenna 720, TX
processor 716, RX processor 770, controller/processor 775, modem
1114, memory 1116, antenna 1165, RF front end 1188, transceiver
1102, and/or processor 1112 may provide means for selecting the
first set of TCI for the PDCCH transmission based at least on the
UE capability and the associations between the plurality of TCIs
and the one or more UE panels.
[0163] Optionally, in an aspect, block 904 may further include
block 910. In this aspect, at block 910, the method 900 may further
include selecting the first set of TCI for the PDCCH transmission
further based on a data buffer, a channel status in a multi-TRP
communication, or a trade-off between a power saving mode and a
reliability mode. For example, in an aspect, base station 102, 710,
power saving component 198, memory 776, antenna 720, TX processor
716, RX processor 770, controller/processor 775, modem 1114, memory
1116, antenna 1165, RF front end 1188, transceiver 1102, and/or
processor 1112 may select the first set of TCI for the PDCCH
transmission further based on a data buffer, a channel status in a
multi-TRP communication, or a trade-off between a power saving mode
and a reliability mode. Accordingly, base station 102, 710, power
saving component 198, memory 776, antenna 720, TX processor 716, RX
processor 770, controller/processor 775, modem 1114, memory 1116,
antenna 1165, RF front end 1188, transceiver 1102, and/or processor
1112 may provide means for selecting the first set of TCI for the
PDCCH transmission further based on a data buffer, a channel status
in a multi-TRP communication, or a trade-off between a power saving
mode and a reliability mode.
[0164] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI configuration message
indicates a TCI index of a TCI that is excluded from the first set
of TCI.
[0165] Optionally, in an aspect, the TCI configuration message
indicates an excluded group index associated with one or more TCI
indices of an excluded set of TCI excluded from the first set of
TCI, where the excluded group index corresponds to an excluded UE
panel index, where the skip monitoring includes skip monitoring
responsive to at least based on the excluded group index.
[0166] Optionally, in an aspect, transmitting the TCI configuration
message at block 904 includes transmitting within a signaling of
TCI configurations via RRC.
[0167] Optionally, in an aspect, transmitting the TCI configuration
message at 904 includes transmitting within signaling of
activation/deactivation of one or more corresponding TCIs via MAC
CE.
[0168] Optionally, in an aspect, transmitting the TCI configuration
message at 904 includes transmitting a dynamic indication via a
DCI.
[0169] Optionally, in an aspect, the dynamic indication includes a
PDCCH skipping signal.
[0170] Optionally, in an aspect, transmitting the TCI configuration
message at 904 includes transmitting within a signaling configured
for UE power saving.
[0171] Referring to FIG. 10, one example of an implementation of UE
104 may include a variety of components, some of which have already
been described above, but including components such as one or more
UE panels 146 (e.g., first UE panel 144 and second UE panel 145 in
FIG. 1) and one or more processors 1012 and memory 1016 and
transceiver 1002 in communication via one or more buses 1044, which
may operate in conjunction with modem 1014, and power saving
component 140 to enable one or more of the functions described
herein related to UE power saving. Further, the one or more
processors 1012, modem 1014, memory 1016, transceiver 1002, RF
front end 1088 and one or more antennas 1065 may be configured to
support voice and/or data calls (simultaneously or
non-simultaneously) in one or more radio access technologies. The
antennas 1065 may include one or more antennas, antenna elements,
and/or antenna arrays.
[0172] In an aspect, the one or more processors 1012 may include a
modem 1014 that uses one or more modem processors. The various
functions related to power saving component 140 may be included in
modem 1014 and/or processors 1012 and, in an aspect, may be
executed by a single processor, while in other aspects, different
ones of the functions may be executed by a combination of two or
more different processors. For example, in an aspect, the one or
more processors 1012 may include any one or any combination of a
modem processor, or a baseband processor, or a digital signal
processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiver processor, or a
transceiver processor associated with transceiver 1002. In other
aspects, some of the features of the one or more processors 1012
and/or modem 1014 associated with power saving component 140 may be
performed by transceiver 1002.
[0173] Also, memory 1016 may be configured to store data used
herein and/or local versions of applications 1075, power saving
component 140 and/or one or more of subcomponents thereof being
executed by at least one processor 1012. Memory 1016 may include
any type of computer-readable medium usable by a computer or at
least one processor 1012, such as random access memory (RAM), read
only memory (ROM), tapes, magnetic discs, optical discs, volatile
memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. In an
aspect, for example, memory 1016 may be a non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium that stores one or more
computer-executable codes defining power saving component 140
and/or one or more of subcomponents thereof, and/or data associated
therewith, when UE 104 is operating at least one processor 1012 to
execute power saving component 140 and/or one or more subcomponents
thereof.
[0174] Transceiver 1002 may include at least one receiver 1006 and
at least one transmitter 1008. Receiver 1006 may include hardware,
firmware, and/or software code executable by a processor for
receiving data, the code including instructions and being stored in
a memory (e.g., computer-readable medium). Receiver 1006 may be,
for example, a radio frequency (RF) receiver. In an aspect,
receiver 1006 may receive signals transmitted by at least one base
station 102. Additionally, receiver 1006 may process such received
signals, and also may obtain measurements of the signals, such as,
but not limited to, Ec/Io, SNR, RSRP, RSSI, etc. Transmitter 1008
may include hardware, firmware, and/or software code executable by
a processor for transmitting data, the code including instructions
and being stored in a memory (e.g., computer-readable medium). A
suitable example of transmitter 1008 may including, but is not
limited to, an RF transmitter.
[0175] Moreover, in an aspect, UE 104 may include RF front end
1088, which may operate in communication with one or more antennas
1065 and transceiver 1002 for receiving and transmitting radio
transmissions, for example, wireless communications transmitted by
at least one base station 102 or wireless transmissions transmitted
by UE 104. RF front end 1088 may be connected to one or more
antennas 1065 and may include one or more low-noise amplifiers
(LNAs) 1090, one or more switches 1092, one or more power
amplifiers (PAs) 1098, and one or more filters 1096 for
transmitting and receiving RF signals.
[0176] In an aspect, LNA 1090 may amplify a received signal at a
desired output level. In an aspect, each LNA 1090 may have a
specified minimum and maximum gain values. In an aspect, RF front
end 1088 may use one or more switches 1092 to select a particular
LNA 1090 and its specified gain value based on a desired gain value
for a particular application.
[0177] Further, for example, one or more PA(s) 1098 may be used by
RF front end 1088 to amplify a signal for an RF output at a desired
output power level. In an aspect, each PA 1098 may have specified
minimum and maximum gain values. In an aspect, RF front end 1088
may use one or more switches 1092 to select a particular PA 1098
and its specified gain value based on a desired gain value for a
particular application.
[0178] Also, for example, one or more filters 1096 may be used by
RF front end 1088 to filter a received signal to obtain an input RF
signal. Similarly, in an aspect, for example, a respective filter
1096 may be used to filter an output from a respective PA 1098 to
produce an output signal for transmission. In an aspect, each
filter 1096 may be connected to a specific LNA 1090 and/or PA 1098.
In an aspect, RF front end 1088 may use one or more switches 1092
to select a transmit or receive path using a specified filter 1096,
LNA 1090, and/or PA 1098, based on a configuration as specified by
transceiver 1002 and/or processor 1012.
[0179] As such, transceiver 1002 may be configured to transmit and
receive wireless signals through one or more antennas 1065 via RF
front end 1088. In an aspect, transceiver 1002 may be tuned to
operate at specified frequencies such that UE 104 can communicate
with, for example, one or more base stations 102 or one or more
cells associated with one or more base stations 102. In an aspect,
for example, modem 1014 may configure transceiver 1002 to operate
at a specified frequency and power level based on the UE
configuration of the UE 104 and the communication protocol used by
modem 1014.
[0180] In an aspect, modem 1014 may be a multiband-multimode modem,
which can process digital data and communicate with transceiver
1002 such that the digital data is sent and received using
transceiver 1002. In an aspect, modem 1014 may be multiband and be
configured to support multiple frequency bands for a specific
communications protocol. In an aspect, modem 1014 may be multimode
and be configured to support multiple operating networks and
communications protocols. In an aspect, modem 1014 may control one
or more components of UE 104 (e.g., RF front end 1088, transceiver
1002) to enable transmission and/or reception of signals from the
network based on a specified modem configuration. In an aspect, the
modem configuration may be based on the mode of the modem and the
frequency band in use. In another aspect, the modem configuration
may be based on UE configuration information associated with UE 104
as provided by the network during cell selection and/or cell
reselection.
[0181] Referring to FIG. 11, one example of an implementation of
base station 102 may include a variety of components, some of which
have already been described above, but including components such as
one or more processors 1112 and memory 1116 and transceiver 1102 in
communication via one or more buses 1154, which may operate in
conjunction with modem 1114 and power saving component 198 to
enable one or more of the functions described herein related to UE
power saving.
[0182] The transceiver 1102, receiver 1106, transmitter 1108, one
or more processors 1112, memory 1116, applications 1175, buses
1154, RF front end 1188, LNAs 1190, switches 1192, filters 1196,
PAs 1198, and one or more antennas 1165 may be the same as or
similar to the corresponding components of UE 104, as described
above, but configured or otherwise programmed for base station
operations as opposed to UE operations.
[0183] It is understood that the specific order or hierarchy of
blocks in the processes/flowcharts disclosed is an illustration of
example approaches. Based upon design preferences, it is understood
that the specific order or hierarchy of blocks in the
processes/flowcharts may be rearranged. Further, some blocks may be
combined or omitted. The accompanying method claims present
elements of the various blocks in a sample order, and are not meant
to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.
[0184] The previous description is provided to enable any person
skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described
herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be readily
apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles
defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Thus, the claims
are not intended to be limited to the aspects shown herein, but is
to be accorded the full scope consistent with the language claims,
wherein reference to an element in the singular is not intended to
mean "one and only one" unless specifically so stated, but rather
"one or more." The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving
as an example, instance, or illustration." Any aspect described
herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as
preferred or advantageous over other aspects. Unless specifically
stated otherwise, the term "some" refers to one or more.
Combinations such as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of
A, B, or C," "at least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B,
and C," and "A, B, C, or any combination thereof" include any
combination of A, B, and/or C, and may include multiples of A,
multiples of B, or multiples of C. Specifically, combinations such
as "at least one of A, B, or C," "one or more of A, B, or C," "at
least one of A, B, and C," "one or more of A, B, and C," and "A, B,
C, or any combination thereof" may be A only, B only, C only, A and
B, A and C, B and C, or A and B and C, where any such combinations
may contain one or more member or members of A, B, or C. All
structural and functional equivalents to the elements of the
various aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known
or later come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art are
expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be
encompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein is
intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether such
disclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. The words "module,"
"mechanism," "element," "device," and the like may not be a
substitute for the word "means." As such, no claim element is to be
construed as a means plus function unless the element is expressly
recited using the phrase "means for."
* * * * *